


Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

by zuzuzuuu



Series: North pole, South pole [1]
Category: QCYN, Qing Chun You Ni, UNINE (Band), UNIQ (Band), 青春有你
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sentinels & Guides, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Who will be endgame?, writing this as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2019-12-30 08:51:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18312302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zuzuzuuu/pseuds/zuzuzuuu
Summary: Everyone in the Spring batch had come without any doubts that Li Wenhan was a Sentinel.“Did you see that video with his tiger? The other guy must have flown like 10 metres when he punched him!”“Please, whohasn’twatched it,” Lou Jiongze rolls his eyes at Yao Chi, exiting the video player with a deft tap on the transparent slate in his hand. “It was only the most-played video two years ago.”-Three years after the Incident, Wenhan starts all over again.





	1. 00 - 03

**00**

Everyone in the Spring batch had come without any doubts that Li Wenhan was a Sentinel.

Power, strength, fast reflexes, fighting prowess. Easily one of the top-requested combat partners. Which Guide had never thought about pairing with a strong Sentinel? And one in a high position at that, able to protect the weaker, softer, non-fighting Guide in more ways than one. Not that Lou Jiongze didn’t itch to slap every person who pulled the “aw, cute little Guide need my help?” card in front of him.

Besides, Li Wenhan’s spirit animal was one of the most beautiful he’d seen, even in 360p.

“Did you see that video with his tiger? The other guy must have flown like 10 metres when he punched him!”

“Please, who _hasn’t_ watched it,” Lou Jiongze rolls his eyes, exiting the video player with a deft tap on the transparent slate in his hand. It’s an almost frighteningly slim piece of technology, shaved bezels all the way, yet still sturdier than the mid-range personal tablet he’d been using for the past few years. That’s military R&D for you. “It was only the most-played video two years ago.” Yao Chi looks a little let down at Jiongze’s reaction, but brightens up at the next thought. “You think I’d get to pair up with him?”

This is a question that clearly many of the new recruits have thought about, whether Sentinel or Guide. The feeling of many eyes turning to their small corner makes Jiongze’s hairs stand on end, and he doesn’t even have heightened senses. Just a little Guide here trying to make it to the next mission team.

“Quiet,” he hisses, and pulls Yao Chi’s head down, uncaring of the other’s questioning look. Honestly, he’s been worried about looking out for the other Guide as well, and here he is already thinking about finding a Sentinel to pair with. And even daring to say out loud you want to pair with Li Wenhan! Have you considered the ultra-hearing of the Sentinels around you!

But instead, all that comes out is: “Think about how your seal won’t get eaten, first.” _Honk?_ The seal says from beside Yao Chi’s seat, head tilted.

 _Chirp._ Jiongze’s sandpiper says seriously from his shoulder.

Thankfully, before Yao Chi can continue asking more questions, the whole room quiets to an unnatural hush with the entrance of the very person in the centre of this discussion.

Li Wenhan walks in, footsteps sounding loud on the concrete floor. Or more accurately, Li Wenhan walks into the room, white tiger prowling beside him, fur sleek and pristine, muscles rippling just under the surface, matching him step for step. Lou Jiongze can barely tear his eyes off it, almost animal instinct keeping him on high alert at any hint of movement. Fight. His back tenses. Flight. His sandpiper trembles, stills.

 _Sentinel_ , the aura emanating off man and tiger says. _Sentinel_ , the air all around Lou Jiongze replies, the eyes of the people seated in the lecture hall sharpened to needle point. _Danger, danger._

The pair of boots easily jumps up the few platform steps and stops in the centre. The white tiger crosses to the other side, rubbing affectionately as it passes, before staying still on all fours. The unblinking eyes seem to bore straight past Jiongze’s skull.

“Hi everyone,” the uniformed figure says. “I’m Li Wenhan.”

 

 

**01**

Winter gives a polite-enough chuffle in greeting, then proceeds to sit down and groom her left paw.

 _Really?_ Wenhan thinks at her, to which she only twitches her ears. _Some moral support you are._

Scanning the room, the mass of eager faces makes Wenhan simultaneously uneasy and somewhat honoured. He’d thought that the few years he was forced to be out of action would make them distrusting or unwilling to accept him. _I wonder how Xuan-ge’s is doing._

 _You’ll be fine,_ Winter finally says. _Look lively for your new team._

“Congratulations on making it this far,” Wenhan says aloud, pushing himself to speak louder than he normally would. “As you know, the Tower is putting together new special force teams. I will be in charge of one of them.” Unspoken in that sentence is the implication that he had been told to pick the members. Some of the eyes staring back at him gain a sharper edge. Good. Wenhan takes note of their badge numbers.

“To get to know each other, we will split into groups and rotate members every week. We will train together, eat together,” Wenhan pauses for dramatic effect. The room holds its breath. “Sleep together.”

He almost breaks character when the recruits start to chatter, half-excited and half-anxious. Winter’s tail twitches in amusement.

Someone raises their hand. “What if our spirit animals aren’t compatible?”

“On missions, staying together is unavoidable,” a voice cuts in, walking in past the silent sliding doors. “You’ll have to learn how to deal with it.”

Smiling almost imperceptibly, Wenhan watches the rest of the trainees shift even more in their seats. “This is your trainer, Guan Yue.”

 

 

**02**

Guan Yue’s red fox hops nimbly over to the white tiger, nipping at the large paws. He turns so the class can’t see him, and raises his eyebrows at Wenhan. _Playing cool?_

Wenhan, as usual, looks innocently back at him, blinking guilelessly. The uniform isn’t as fitting on him anymore, after his almost drastic muscle loss, but even hanging loosely on him, Wenhan still manages to look good.

 _They can’t see her?_ Wenhan gestures with his fingers, movements tiny.

 _Only a few,_ Guan Yue signs behind his back. Not many compatible with him this round, and even more so with most of the few able to see Eddy being the new Guides. Though judging from the looks on most people’s faces, Wenhan’s white tiger is still very visible.

And now visibly swatting at something they can’t see, after trying and failing to ignore Eddy. Guan Yue can’t help his smile as he introduces himself, turning to the front again. “I’ll be helping in combat training,” he says, stressing the last two words. “For everyone here.”

Ah, the familiar looks of disbelief. Small, cute, just a Guide. Wonder which one it’ll be this time?

“Senses training is always done with one Sentinel and one Guide instructor present. You’ll be with me and another instructor,” Wenhan steps in smoothly, not giving them time to protest. Guan Yue resists the urge to flick a glance at him, and goes back to observing the room. Some of them haven’t fully accepted Guan Yue as a young, soft-looking Guide being their combat trainer yet, but the rebellious set to their jaw is quelled by the authoritative, demanding aura that Wenhan hasn’t stopped sending out. He amuses himself happily thinking about how to push these fresh faces to their limits.

Several of the recruits are taking notes from the projected screen, the slides already sent to their personal Tower-issued tablets the moment Wenhan stepped on the platform. Familiar with the content, Guan Yue tunes out Wenhan reading out the rules and structured timings for their daily routines for the next few weeks, watching the recruits’ body language unknowingly relax as the sounds of his naturally calming voice wash over them. _Fascinating_ , Guan Yue thinks. He never gets tired of seeing this. Though the next part is what he’s really here for.

The slideshow finishes to a blank screen. Wenhan pauses.

The group, Guan Yue judges, is at just the right level of attention, not drifting off into their own thoughts, nor intently focused on the platform. Wenhan did always have the uncanny ability to read the room.

“As your trainer and future team leader, I have the duty to inform you,” Wenhan says, eyes slightly hooded as he closes the slideshow, fingers not stopping even as his white tiger’s tail swishes, once, twice.

He raises his eyes.

“I’m an unbonded Guide.”

 

 

**03**

“That will be all for today.”

And with that, Li Wenhan exits the room without so much as a look back, as sudden as the way he came, even as the room begins to erupt with the sounds of people’s worldviews shattering. The white tiger leaps up, every movement subtly powerful, and saunters after him.

Jia Yi is glued to his seat, mesmerized.

“The _hell_ ,” someone yells, never a good idea in a room full of Sentinels. “ _You’re kidding me_.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing something as it goes along - I don't like having parts of things up when I don't know where the story is going. But I really don't know where this is going! Exciting times.
> 
> Characters and ships to be added to the tags as the story progresses. (I hope there will be a story) (I don't know who's going to be endgame either) (Whee!)
> 
>  **Tags added this chapter:** Li Wenhan; Guan Yue; Jia Yi; Lou Jiongze; All/Li Wenhan; Jia Yi/Li Wenhan; Zhou Yixuan/Li Wenhan
> 
> I first came across the Sentinel/Guide mythos through Chinese fic community, known there as the 哨向AU; short for哨兵 (Sentinel) and 向导 (Guide). There is a wide variety of settings and ways that the S/G relationship, inclusive of spirit animals, is used in c-fic, almost none of it true to The Sentinel, which I have never seen. Spirit animals are also called “精神体” – literally “mind/soul form”, which really isn’t quite the same thing, causing them to become not so much spiritual guides as they are instead more commonly like an extension or agent of the self, though often with their own personality. I would say the concept is often more similar to daemons in His Dark Materials. Therefore. I have also gone ahead and made many of my own tweaks to the AU.
> 
>  **TL;DR:** This is a Sentinel & Guide AU. But not really. If you’re entirely new to the whole concept - there is no need to read up about it, though you can if you want to. I hope you're able to discover this world as it slowly opens up!


	2. 04 - 07

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should put a disclaimer: I tagged for violence but it was a just-in-case kind of thing. Like maybe 2% of this will have violence, and even that's an overestimation. Probably. Somehow, try as I might, the only things that come out of my keyboard are sappy characters.
> 
> Also, I **_did_** tag All/Wenhan, so can't say I didn't warn you. More Wenhan ships to come! Hooray!

**04**

“Everyone can see your spirit animal!”

“I’m compatible with almost every Sentinel.”

“You fought in the mission team! You punched a guy 8 metres without Sentinel strength?”

“I trained for it.”

“The guy you punched almost died on impact!”

“I trained very hard for it.”

“You -” Guan Yue stops himself and pinches the bridge of his nose. The man in the standard issue physical training tee and shorts looks up from where he had been seated, busy stabbing and swiping at his new tablet for the past ten minutes. The afternoon light casts shadows from the unfamiliar luggage bag and onto the legs of the study table beside him. “Any more questions?”

Guan Yue stares, hands crossed at his chest. In person, Li Wenhan doesn’t look that similar to the legendary image in that video. For one, his arms have lost the sinews and biceps that Guan Yue could have traced by memory, with the number of times he’d watched the clip. Half a year on a hospital bed does that to you, he supposes.

The white tiger stares back at him from where it has laid itself across the otherwise untouched bed, long tail hanging over the edge. It only reminds him of the way Li Wenhan’s eyes had gone straight from his face to his spirit animal, the moment he finished introducing himself. Damn. And here he’d thought he’d finally found a compatible Sentinel to pair with.

Guan Yue takes in a deep breath, glares at the black spot on the ceiling he’d found in his first night here, lets it all out in one _whoosh_.

“What’s its name,” he says, gesturing in the general direction of the bed.

The unreadable, murky darkness in Li Wenhan’s eyes melts into soft chocolate held in your hands for a little too long. “Snowy.” The tiger pads over to him, nuzzling his hand. Li Wenhan’s unguardedly fond smile almost makes up for the shock of opening the door to a new roommate with too many hidden surprises.

“Redmane,” Guan Yue says instead of the million things in his head. Eddy sidles back in between his legs, tail brushing comfortingly.

Li Wenhan gets up, white tiger moving with him, and the chair swivels to the table. The sense of danger, dormant when he was seated, is back up in an instant.

Eddy steps out in between them, hunched back on her haunches.

Li Wenhan stops, does _something_ , and Guan Yue is able to breathe again. “Sorry,” he says when he steps into the sunlight, eyes apologetic, and wow. Never mind, Guan Yue has lost his breath once more.

“I’m Wenhan,” his new training partner says. The stars in his eyes are perfect. “Um… Can you teach me how to log in to the system?”

 

 

**05**

“You spent this whole time trying to log in?”

“...”

“...The fingerprint sensor is on the front. No, that’s the back.”

 

 

**06**

The combat instructor slaps a small hand on the podium and the reverberating sound makes every single person wince. Shen Qunfeng keeps a straight face, even with his ears ringing slightly - at least it wasn't a scent attack. Our heightened senses are being used to control us instead, he begins to realise.

“Yes he’s a Guide, no he’s not superhuman, no I will not teach you how to punch your enemy more than 5 meters, no I will not give you his contact number, I don’t care if you’re compatible. You will address me as Guan Yue, or sir.” The combat instructor says. In the background, the default screen glimmers in an ever-so-slightly menacing way.

“Sir,” Shen Qunfeng raises his hand. “What about your fox?”

As one, the people beside him in the last row turn to look at him. The fox blinks at him from the front row, then slips back to sit at Guan Yue’s feet.

“That’s a matter for separate discussion,” Guan Yue says, eyes slightly squinted. Shen Qunfeng is reminded of his mother's Maltese dog, whose nose he loves to boop. “Everyone else, I’ll see you at 0600 tomorrow for our morning run.”

 

 

**07**

The run is insane, or so Jia Yi decides. He's come to this scientific, academically rigorous conclusion after they've gone up and down three separate slopes, run past 11 dogs, turned into the gates of the compound and then, just when you could taste the relief in everyone's faces, promptly run back out again.

Some of the fresh recruits are already lagging behind, but there are no complaints to be heard. A small group of Guides push determinedly along at the back. He Changxi follows close behind him.

“Keep up!” Guan Yue calls over his shoulder. Jia Yi is very near the front of the line, having been confident that his pacing would be no problem. Past me deserves to be kicked in the ass, he thinks.

“Sir, yes sir!” He says out loud instead. Guan Yue smiles at him, crescent moon eyes crinkling, and it gives him the boost to pump more juice into his legs.

 _Sucker,_ Summer says, loping along beside him. _If you've got the energy to be thinking about pretty smiles, you've got the energy to be running faster._

 _Easy for you to say_ , Jia Yi rolls his eyes. _Not like you need to breathe or anything._

 _True, true._ Summer nods her head wisely. _But you do. And you aren't doing so well at it._ The sly delight in her voice makes Jia Yi huff his cheeks out.

A flash of white makes him jolt to attention.

“How much left?” A voice asks, wafting over softly. Out of the corner of his eye, Jia Yi watches the white tiger cross the distance of four lamp poles in a few easy strides. Its guardian follows close behind, dressed exactly the same as the rest of them. Yet somehow Jia Yi feels like his is different in a way he can't describe.

“Last lap,” Guan Yue says very quietly. Even as a Sentinel, he just barely manages to hear it over the sounds of everyone breathing as deeply as they can. Jia Yi has never been so thankful for his heightened eyesight as he is now, following the path of a bead of sweat as it goes down Li Wenhan's cheek. I take it back, Jia Yi thinks, past me was a genius. ”I'll join,” he reads the lips say, soft-looking and just-moistened by the sweep of a pink tongue.

Guan Yue looks sharply at Li Wenhan. They haven't stopped moving this whole time, though the pace has slowed to nearer to a jog.

“Suit yourself,” Guan Yue finally replies, facing front. “But I'm not carrying you back.”

Li Wenhan doesn't say anything. Jia Yi watches as the white tiger falls into step outside the running file, not touching but always within range.

 _Greedy_ , Summer snorts, the sound lovingly chiding. _You can't have both_.

 _No_ , Jia Yi agrees, matching his exhales to the rhythm of the topmost zipper bouncing off Li Wenhan's windbreaker. _Pretty sure I know who you're looking at, though._

Yup, there it is, the face of an embarrassed tiger. Jia Yi lets out a happy whistle. Jia Yi 1, Summer 19.

  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, the numbers don't mean anything. Mostly.
> 
>  **Tags added this chapter:** Shen Qunfeng; Li Wenhan/Guan Yue
> 
> If you have questions, want to talk about a detail, just want to keysmash - comments welcome. (Thank you all)


	3. 08 - 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations on your debut, UNINE!

**08**

Wenxuan raps twice on the door with his knuckles and then invites himself in. “Da-ge, have you -”

“Hu Wenxuan,” Wenhan says, “What did we say about knocking?”

Wenxuan looks up from the comms tab he's holding and realizes belatedly that the office is occupied by more than just his Da-ge. Lithop darts back behind him, the word _oops_ written all over his fennec fox ears.

He coolly pushes up his no-lens glasses with a free hand. “To wait. Which I will now. Outside.” Just before he can suavely retreat out the door, however, someone else repeats the exact same thing he did not two minutes ago.

“Da-ge, the groupings for the Spring batch - oh, Wenxuan,” Hu Chunyang says, looking up after he bumps solidly into his back. The force of the bump causes Chunyang’s glasses to fall down his nose, so he peers upward while squinting, looking exactly like their desert owl perched on his shoulder.

“What about the groupings?” Wenhan says, and motions for him to come over.

Wenxuan definitely does not pout. “Da-ge, this is called discrimination. Double standards!”

“Yangyang wouldn’t do it unless it’s urgent,” Wenhan says over the sound of papers being flipped through, scanning the words quickly. “Also, you never get to the point.”

Wenxuan makes a face, and Chunyang stifles a laugh behind his hand before he comes to stand beside him, giving him a secret one-armed hug around his side, blocked from Wenhan’s view by the office desk. The hug is slightly comforting.

Then Chunyang settles a hand on their fennec fox, and Wenxuan feels like he's been wrapped in a warm toasty blanket of affection that he never, ever wants to leave.

“These are fine, just shift this one over here and it's good,” Wenhan says, looking back up. “I'll - oh, honestly. Must you? In front of my salad?”

“Let the lovebirds be,” Guan Yue says. Or at least Wenxuan thinks he says, because he's busy trying to snuggle Chunyang and not melt into the floor at the same time, with the way Chunyang keeps sending warm loving thoughts through Lithop, hand constantly running along his fur. “It’s hard enough to catch a break with your bonded.”

Wenhan sighs and takes the comms tab. He's happy to let him, now freed to return the favor and scritch Roast's feathers, thoughts of _Can I kiss you afterwards?_ flowing through his fingers. Wenxuan watches as Chunyang's ears turn redder than the fur on Redmane, who is off somewhere playing with Snowy, probably. This is going to take a while, after all. Especially if Da-ge has to figure out how to use the tab.

“This is why Yangyang is welcomed and you’re not,” Guan Yue tells him, sipping his tea. “He's thoughtful enough to print the pages.”

“Save the trees,” Wenxuan says. Chunyang rolls his eyes and not-so-gently taps Lithop. _Yeah, right._

Wenhan gets the tab working right with a triumphant “ha!” before gradually losing his smile as he reads the memo.

“What is it?” Guan Yue asks.

“Nothing,” Wenhan says, sounding tired, a thing he started doing in front of them only recently. “Just going to get some other trainers here next week.” Without his heightened hearing, Wenxuan would have missed Guan Yue asking, “One of them?” He glances at Redmane and sees her groom Snowy’s head comfortingly. Ah, he thinks. One of them.

 _Da-ge seems sad,_ Chunyang says through the mental link.

Hu Wenxuan is nothing if not a man of action. “Well that was an improvement,” he says loudly, plucking the comms tab out of Wenhan's hands and swiftly closing the message. “Took you less than ten minutes to open the memo this time.”

Guan Yue’s laugh nearly causes the tea to spill out, but Da-ge - always understanding, always able to see through him, even without a bond, Da-ge - mock frowns at him, corners of his mouth twitched upward.

“Come here, you brat,” he growls. Wenxuan gets enveloped in a hug, Wenhan's hands careful not to come into contact with either of his or Chunyang’s spirit animals even as he strokes the back of his head. “I'm fine,” he hears him whisper.

“Let's aim for five minutes next time,” Hu Wenxuan says right after he releases him.

Chunyang’s laughter makes his getting physically booted out of the room worth it. “My office is closed to any personnel going by the name of Hu Wenxuan,” Wenhan calls out the door.

 

 

**09**

As promised, Senses training is done with one Sentinel and one Guide instructor. Just that no one had expected, upon first hearing the sentence, that Li Wenhan would be the Guide, not the Sentinel.

The group of them sit on the grass in unofficial small clumps, waiting for the instructors to arrive. All their spirit animals lounge about, some playing with the ones they're closer to. But most of them avoid touching anyone at all, standing far off, watching and waiting. Some trainees have come to the program with friends, others getting to know new bunk mates through the huge dorm setting. Sleep together, he said. Yeah, in one big room. And not even with the instructors, Xu Bingchao thinks, mouth subconsciously squeezing to the side at the unfairness of it all.

 _He's coming,_ Lune says.

Forget the buzz of the oddest assortment of animal sounds around him, or the way the artificial wind makes the leaves rustle in a slightly off-key way. Xu Bingchao is more interested in the casual, familiar way this Sentinel instructor hangs an arm over Li Wenhan's shoulders as the two make their way to the waiting trainees. Unbonded, he'd said. But no one said anything about pairing, right?

They part when nearing the group, Li Wenhan turning his head to say something that can't be heard. The other person nods, then strides forward. The group quiets.

“Up,” the Sentinel says, and they scramble to their feet. Xu Bingchao stands as tall as he can.

“My name is Hu Wenxuan,” he continues. His eyes glint as he surveys them. “This is Prince.” Xu Bingchao squints at the small-looking animal. Kind of looks like a fox? But with big ears? “Introductions over.”

“We'll be working in groups of five for today,” Hu Wenxuan says, glancing down at the display thrown upward from his palm. “At least one Guide per group. When I call your name, form a line to the right. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

The process lasts for as long as it takes for Xu Bingchao to discover that Li Wenhan has double eyelids. It is a difficult discovery, because any time he stares for longer than three seconds, Li Wenhan stops looking out at the group in general and turns to make eye contact. Which he immediately avoids like lightning. _He didn't catch me staring, right?_

 _90% chance,_ Lune replies. The moon bear lazily scratches an ear. _Of him noticing, I mean._

“Xu Bingchao,” the instructor says. He jumps, then quickly moves to hide his embarrassment. “Sir!”

“...Your group is with me first,” Hu Wenxuan says. “Let's start with Hearing. Everyone else, on your own.”

 

 

**10**

Jia Yi is the one who immediately pins Xu Bingchao down when it happens. “Can you calm him?” He asks the Guide urgently.

“I can't get in,” Lou Jiongze says frantically, shaking his head. The sandpiper flies around the moon bear, trying to land, but it keeps having to retreat to avoid getting swatted heavily to the ground.

“Get Wenhan!” Hu Wenxuan snaps. He's the second person who reacted when Xu Bingchao lost control.

Summer doesn't give Chen Tao the chance to move. Even before Hu Wenxuan finishes his sentence, she's halfway across the field, roaring. Jia Yi takes the time in between pressing Xu Bingchao’s thrashing arm to the floor to see the white tiger leap to its feet right away, turning toward them. Dodging another of the wild-eyed attempts to bite his face off - all other limbs pinned - Jia Yi feels his heart go up to his throat when Li Wenhan reaches them running, both tigers in tow.

“Woah there,” Li Wenhan says, grabbing Xu Bingchao by the shoulder and motioning with his eyes for the others to leave. Jia Yi has his doubts - one Guide holding down a Berserk, when it had taken three Sentinels? But Li Wenhan frowns, brooking no argument. They let go and back away slowly, careful not to agitate Xu Bingchao further. “Hey. Big bear. Can you hear me?”

Xu Bingchao twists his head to face him, breath coming in fast short bursts. “That's it. Just listen to my voice. Yes, that's right. Just listen to me,” Li Wenhan says in the most soothing voice Jia Yi has heard him use. It's like magic how the Berserk stops trying to maul whatever is in front of him. “Take a deep breath in, fill your lungs all the way. That's right. Now breathe out all the way too.”

The effect it has isn't limited to just the Berserk. Jia Yi doesn't even realize his heartbeat and breathing have slowed, until Summer nudges him. _Watch properly,_ she says, tail moving side to side in large swings.

“Wow,” Lou Jiongze whispers.

At the sound, Xu Bingchao grabs the hand on his shoulder, movement faster than a blink. Jia Yi jumps up on reflex, ready to fight. Everyone tenses.

But Li Wenhan holds up his free hand, signalling them to stay back.

“I'm still here,” he continues in his soothing voice. “Just focus on me.” Instead of trying to break free, he shifts the hand until it grasps Xu Bingchao’s, then uses his other hand to hold Xu Bingchao’s face. The Sentinel instinctively leans into the touch.

Jia Yi can't put a name to the feeling inside his gut. It makes him tear his eyes away from the scene as fast as he can. They land on Li Wenhan's white tiger holding down the previously wild moon bear, making a sound halfway between a low growl and a satisfied purr. Somehow, it makes him feel worse.

“Come back,” Li Wenhan commands. The unfocused haze in Xu Bingchao eyes dissipates. “There you are. What's your name?” He steals a quick look at the name tag before going back to staring intently at the Sentinel’s eyes.

“Li Wenhan,” Xu Bingchao says, dazed. The confusion and awe is so apparent that Jia Yi’s toes curl.

“No, that's my name,” Li Wenhan smiles. Well frick _me_ , Jia Yi thinks.

The now-clear eyes blink. “Xu Bingchao.”

“Good,” Li Wenhan says. It feels like everyone in the group audibly lets out the breath they were holding. “Now can you let go of my hand?”

 

 

**11**

“30 laps around the compound tomorrow,” Hu Wenxuan barks, arms crossed. “For now, you're going back to rest.”

His fingers dig sharply into Xu Bingchao’s forearm as he hauls him up from the ground. “And if you get any ideas about Wenhan,” he whispers, deadly serious. “Don't.”

Xu Bingchao nods, shakes his head, and tries not to think too hard about the sensation of small warm fingers on his skin, or the feeling of both power and submission that he'd felt through Lune. And definitely not about the smooth, sweet voice.

 

 

**12**

“I'll have you know that the trainees all listen to me now,” Wenxuan says.

Guan Yue cocks his head to one side. “Xuanxuan, you really are someone who walked out of a book, huh.” Guan Yue hadn't been at the training, but he had probably heard all about it, as part of the instructor team. Also, the supervising footage would have helped.

“You just realised?” Wenxuan says, angling his head toward the light in just the right way.

“Mm, right out of a textbook,” Guan Yue's smile widens.

Wenxuan ignores the feeling that this is not going the way he expected it to. “How so?”

“Why, it's the perfect, textbook example of 狐假虎威*,” Guan Yue says cheerfully, Redmane yipping as she rolls on the ground.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * [Chinese idioms lesson time](https://m.hujiang.com/en_yingyugushi/p482260/)! Textbook because literally HWX is a fox and LWH is a tiger and also everyone knows who the recruits are more scared of.
> 
>  **Tags added this chapter:** Hu Wenxuan/Hu Chunyang; Xu Bingchao/Li Wenhan; Hu Wenxuan; Xu Bingchao
> 
> Not sure if you noticed, but I basically gave myself more work by having a lot of names in this fic, which can be hard to keep track of (I myself use a cheat sheet...). I'm considering adding a cheat sheet chapter to the back and/or adding to the chapter notes each time a new name pops up, e.g. Li Wenhan - White tiger: Winter (Snowy). What do you think?


	4. 13 - 17

**13**

“Scout,” Li Wenhan says. “Enemy position?”

“Two in front, three unknown,” Chen Tao says, frowning as he focuses on the mental link with his raven. “I can't pinpoint where they are, but I can make a round for the borders after this.”

Li Wenhan nods. They're in standard battle gear, more heavy protection for the Guides and lightweight suits for the Sentinels. The simulated terrain is urban, as most of the fights are expected to be, so the group crouches in a room on the second storey, bare concrete floor cold as Chen Tao's raven soars gracefully through the open window and lands on the white tiger, preening.

Shen Qunfeng's Scent is one of the best in the batch, so of course he's in charge of it. He shakes his head. “Nothing to add. I've memorized everyone's scent to be sure. My Scent will be more useful once we're out and nearby.”

Jia Yi eyes the moon bear warily, but it sits calmly beside, sandpiper hopping along its arms. Before he could volunteer for Hearing, Li Wenhan had assigned Xu Bingchao to the task, asking, “Can you do it?” so intently and sincerely that neither Jia Yi nor the person involved could object. Xu Bingchao opens his eyes now, frown easing off his face. Jia Yi can begrudgingly acknowledge that it's a handsome face - when he's not openly staring at Li Wenhan. “The steps are different; one is lighter. I think there's one Guide. I can Hear only a little bit further than that.”

Lou Jiongze’s sandpiper hops off the bear and onto the white tiger, joining the raven, unafraid though the white tiger rumbles at it. Li Wenhan takes in the information, scattering the proj-die without even sparing a look at the spirit animals. “Lou Jiongze will stay with the flag. Chen Tao, you’re protection. You two can roam the nearby blocks. Don’t stay too long in one place.” He draws a circle around the area with a finger. They could have gotten a literal birds-eye picture, but it would have given their location away too early. The map shimmers in the air. The markings done by Li Wenhan seem almost childish in comparison to the high-tech equipment, which makes Jia Yi stifle a smile.

“Rest of us attack,” Li Wenhan continues, looking them in the eye one by one. “We’ll split up. Shen Qunfeng, you’ll take the right side. Jia Yi, the middle road. You’re second protection. Big bear,” he says, turning to Xu Bingchao. “Left side. I’m with you.”

Jia Yi can feel the corners of his mouth turn downward. But their unspoken leader’s plan has clearly considered all the weaknesses that they have to cover, and it’s true that no one else is better equipped for the job of bear keeper, if necessary.

 _Worry about yourself_ , Summer says, although he can’t see her from this building. _The other team’s approaching by the middle._

“They’re close,” Li Wenhan says, sweeping up the proj-die with one hand. “Not sure where we are yet, thanks to you three, but easy to find out soon enough.”

He tucks the die into his pocket, standing up. “Move fast. The moment we leave this room, it’s on.”

They all get up. Even Lou Jiongze, though he doesn’t really have to. The red light on the small box in Lou Jiongze’s hands blinks in a regular rhythm, as if in agreement. Jia Yi stretches, popping joints, feeling the adrenaline fill up in a rush.

“Avoid contact as much as possible, but if necessary,” Li Wenhan says, pulling down the full-face visor of his helmet. The black prevents anyone from seeing the expression on his face. “Permission to engage.”

“Yes sir!” Jia Yi grins.

The helmet nods. “Go get 'em, tiger.”

 

 

**14**

It takes seven minutes and fifty one seconds before that permission is greatly appreciated.

“Hello,” Jia Yi greets. The other person freezes, before jumping out of the way a split second before Jia Yi can slap him on the back.

“Jia Yi,” Lin Mo says. His guard is up, or so Jia Yi’s senses tell him. He can’t tell which senses anymore, and he doesn’t particularly want to bother differentiating at the moment. He feels _alive_ , like everything is fresh. Including the sweat dripping off Lin Mo’s frown. “Why the helmet?”

“Not everyone can recognise me,” Jia Yi shrugs. He mirrors Lin Mo’s crouch, watching as the other tenses an arm, keeping the lynx in his peripheral vision. Lin Mo’s eyes flick to the side - a feint? He fakes a step to the right, sees the sped-up reaction in Lin Mo’s reach backward - ah ha.

“You paired,” Jia Yi says. No surprises. Makes a lot of sense. Pairing has always been a battle strategy. Especially for a Guide like Lin Mo, getting the boost in combat power was a wise choice, given his recon role. He doesn’t read any surprise in Lin Mo at his deduction either. “Zhan Yu ge?”

No, they wouldn’t have needed to send him out in that case.

“You don’t remember who’s on my team, do you,” Lin Mo says, amused.

“Like you do,” Jia Yi retorts, inching closer. His senses have been boosted, but Lin Mo isn’t a master of them yet. He hasn’t learned how to use them as much as Jia Yi has had to. He has to focus to keep alert, though, because Lin Mo is as aware as he is that he can still be lulled into a false calm, no thanks to the older - and more experienced - soldier's Guide capabilities.

“Of course I do,” Lin Mo smiles. “Li Wenhan’s on your rotation.”

“Then Deng Chaoyuan,” Jia Yi says. He’s managed to get Lin Mo in the right spot while they were circling.

“Y- ” He lunges.

The lynx jumps at almost the same time, but he’s tackled Lin Mo to the floor, pinning him down before he can reach for the laser gun on his belt. Jia Yi taps the sensors on Lin Mo’s vest as quickly as he can, dodging the lynx’s claws by a hair’s breadth. The vest vibrates, gives a beep, and lights up. One out.

“Sorry, ge,” he says apologetically, lifting his visor. Lin Mo stares for a moment, out of breath, before giving an exasperated laugh.

“You’re not really,” he says, sitting up. “But you will be if you don’t move - I’m still paired, you know.”

Ah. Right. The pairing link. Their location would have been known to the other half, long ago.

“Well then, I gotta go,” Jia Yi says, slapping his visor back on. The inside of the screen lights up with information - 1.015 km from home base, 33 min 8 s since the team battle started. The three red dots indicating his team mates blink within the radar circle - Shen Qunfeng approaching their target building, Li Wenhan and Xu Bingchao moving so closely together that they're almost overlapping. Jia Yi’s mouth clamps shut with a click.

“Have fun,” Lin Mo wishes him loudly, leaning back on his arms. “Don’t embarrass yourself in front of your idol!”

“Ge!” Jia Yi protests, running away. “Li Wenhan’s not my idol!”

 

 

**15**

Their win is anticlimactic. Mostly because Jia Yi wasn’t there to see it.

“Not bad, big bear,” Li Wenhan says, slapping Xu Bingchao on the back. The silly grin on Xu Bingchao’s face could power a solar board for a day. But what's blinding Jia Yi is the triumphant, almost playfully cocky smile on Li Wenhan's face.

“I'm not _sulking_ ,” he says to Summer's amused face.

“What?” Shen Qunfeng asks.

“Nothing,” he says quickly, ignoring the foxhound lolling its tongue out at him. “Talking to myself.”

Lou Jiongze chatters excitedly, sandpiper hopping along the white tiger’s side, and Jia Yi has to suppress the feeling he gets watching the white tiger simply laze on the floor next to the group, not avoiding the other spirit animal nor chasing it away. He can’t tell if Summer being a tiger is a blessing or a curse - being able to read the white tiger’s almost completely relaxed trust around the sandpiper seems like a peek into Li Wenhan’s person, that both intrigues and pierces him.

At that moment, the white tiger looks up, straight into his eyes.

“Jia Yi,” Li Wenhan calls. Xu Bingchao follows his gaze, tossing the box flashing blue light from hand to hand. “Come with me.”

 

 

**16**

“Jia Yi,” the person in the center says. “You may begin.”

“Our primary concern was safety,“ Jia Yi starts. Standing at ease doesn't help the feeling of being dissected and evaluated by the people sitting in a row in front of him. Cold lights shine from above his head, the slightly rough texture of the collar itching against his neck. “Mission objective was to capture the enemy flag, but all our plans were always made with the secondary objective of keeping as many of us safely lasting to the end as possible.”

The rest of the room continues their assessing silence, but Li Wenhan's face seems to soften. “Lou Jiongze was the weak point of the team. So the strategy was for active attack than passive defence - the faster the better.”

“To further confuse the opponent on our location, our spirit animals were scattered across the area: Me, Shen Qunfeng, and Chen Tao.” Licking his dry lips, Jia Yi continues. “Chen Tao's raven was also the best choice for reconnaissance, and made him suitable to be the lookout for enemy attack. His double role would enable us to react to enemy movement as soon as possible if necessary.”

Li Wenhan nods, encouraging him to continue. Jia Yi stands straighter. “The rest of the Sentinels were attack force. As mentioned earlier, safety was top priority. As one of our team members has a history of going Berserk, Li Wenhan paired with him, since he has proven that he is more than capable of handling him.” The thought of Li Wenhan pairing with Xu Bingchao makes something twist in his gut. Summer gives a quiet rumble beside him, pulling him back to the reality of the situation. Jia Yi takes a steadying breath.

“The pincer attack was carried out as soon as we were able to determine the rough direction and location of the enemy flag, given the movement of the opponent's recon.” he recites, thinking quickly to the moments before they left home base. Did they really make so many choices in such a short time? Is he just second-guessing what was going through Li Wenhan’s mind in those few sentences? But the expression on his face is smooth, even pleased, white tiger’s tail twitching.

“I was assigned the middle road because,” Jia Yi pauses, suddenly realising. “Because the opponents were approaching through the middle.” The explanation seems to fall flat, especially after his analysis of all the other decisions. It can't convey the sudden rush of emotion that Jia Yi feels right after saying it. _I was assigned the middle road because Li Wenhan trusted me to protect the flag._

“I'll take it from here,” Li Wenhan says. The room shifts its attention to him, but he doesn't seem to take much notice, smiling at Jia Yi as he says it. “He explained everything almost perfectly.”

“There are only two points in error. We had identified through initial Sensing that one of the opponent's recon was Lin Mo, whose fighting style and individual characteristics Jia Yi would be most familiar with and ready to counter,” Li Wenhan says. The white tiger stands leisurely by the side. Summer can't take the tension much longer than Jia Yi, prowling in controlled circles where he's standing.

“Secondly, I was concerned with the safety of every person in this training exercise, not just my team. But I did not pair with Xu Bingchao.” He glosses over so calmly, but the sentence makes Jia Yi's heart thump once, hard. “My aim was to let the trainees gain experience in using their Senses, boosting their confidence and ability to do so.”

Jia Yi listens as he briefs the rest of the training, half-engrossed in the side of the story he wasn't part of - he had been busy knocking out Lin Mo’s recon partner while the others attacked the enemy base - and half-entranced by the sweet, calming voice. Summer sits beside him, agitation gone, watching the white tiger. It doesn’t turn its head to look at either of them, the picture of attention at Li Wenhan’s feet.

He doesn’t even notice when the - meeting? Session? What is this? - is over, until the other official-looking people stir, leaning forward in their chairs.

“Noted,” the official in the center says. “We will continue with the observation. Dismissed.”

 

 

**17**

Li Wenhan offers him a grateful smile as they walk toward the mess hall. “Thanks for agreeing to do it.”

Jia Yi’s answering beam is carefully set to 70% brightness level. “No problem! I didn’t expect there would be so many other people, though.”

“Yeah,” Li Wenhan says ruefully, “I should have warned you about that.” He scratches the side of his neck, a bit embarrassed. Or so Jia Yi can tell, from the twitch of his white tiger’s ears. “I just thought you'd understand… everything… best.”

He gambles on a chance. “Well, if you really want to thank me, you could do something for me in return,” Jia Yi says, eyes on Li Wenhan’s soft fringe, moving as the person beside him tilts his head.

“Sure,” Li Wenhan says. “As long as it's within my power. And doesn’t break the rules. Or my NBA collection.” He moves away from Jia Yi, squinting. “Don’t get any ideas.”

Okay, Jia Yi’s in trouble, because he just found that cute. “Well, now that you mention it…”

 _I don’t know what the plan is, but I am taking no part of it_ , Summer says, two steps in front, as if trying to pretend she has nothing to do with him.

“Your tiger is trying to pretend it doesn’t know us,” Li Wenhan accuses. Jia Yi laughs and pulls Summer back. “Exactly what kind of favour would cause a self-respecting tiger to run?”

“A huge one,” Jia Yi says, clamping down on his smile. He slows to a stop, facing Li Wenhan instead of the path. The other three follow, even though Li Wenhan seems to do it without thinking, partly amused, partly cautious. “That is. May I know your names?”

Li Wenhan seems a little startled, mouth opening in surprise to reveal his bunny teeth. Summer comes to a complete stop.

Oh, wait. No.

“I mean, I keep referring to your guardian as ‘the white tiger’ in my head, and, wait, I don’t mean it in that way. I'm sorry! Unless you want it to? Uh,” Jia Yi flusters. He did _not_ just accidentally propose bonding to his admittedly attractive superior that he might kind of have some feelings for. _Here lies Jia Yi, he was a brave but foolish soul, may he rest in -_

“Wenhan,” Li Wenhan says, holding out a hand. Jia Yi takes it immediately in wondering disbelief. “And this is Snowy.” The white tiger - no, Snowy. Snowy chuffles in greeting, stepping forward.

“Jiaxin,” Jia Yi says. “Sunny.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back! Whew. 
> 
> The last chapter will now always be a who's who, along with a summary of some important points about this AU setting that have been revealed in the story so far - numbers [like this] refer to the section (chapter titles show what sections are inside) where this information was shown for the first time or used significantly. This chapter will continue to be updated as the story goes along and more people & setting info are introduced. 
> 
> It can also be a quick guide considering... I don't know when I'll update so you probably don't even remember what's going on.... haha...
> 
> As always, comments welcome!


	5. 18 - 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work was at 7373 words before this, which is why I didn't post for a month (No, it's not) (thanks for your patience)

**18**

They're on an overnight exercise the first time that Jia Yi gets to say those hard-earned names out loud. Night watch can be mind-numbingly boring, but it feels different with Wenhan beside him. Very different, with Wenhan humming an old pop song as he throws another stick into the low fire. Very, very different as Summer lazes five steps away from Snowy, orange against fire-painted white.

It's quiet enough, trees hiding their little base from view, but unavoidably housing small animals and insects rustling about. In a way, it's a test of their patience and Sense control as well. Wenhan's soft _hmhm hmhm hm hm hmmhm_ calms him, even as the tiny sounds - and his job as watchman - put him on edge, ticking endlessly.

“I watched it,” Jia Yi says suddenly, fiddling with his Spiderman keychain. “Your video, I mean.”

There is no need to elaborate on which video. Wenhan smiles. It looks bittersweet. “Did you? At that time, I was probably re-learning how to walk.”

“...I only watched it two days before we came,” Jia Yi huffs. It's a lie. He really hadn't seen the video when it first became viral - that part is true. But it had been near enough to the original upload date, yet Jia Yi hates to hear Wenhan thinking of himself as weak, when he's one of the strongest people he knows. “Bet you were kicking five people a day before breakfast by then.”

“Ah,” Wenhan says. His eyes look at him, then slide away. “Then at _that_ time, I was probably having fun with Guan Yue. Redmane is so ticklish, you know.”

Jia Yi’s mouth drops. _I? He?? Guan Yue?? Touching???_

Wenhan keeps a straight face for all of 5 seconds before his own mouth opens in a laugh. “I'm kidding!” he laughs, leaning heavily on Jia Yi. “You should have seen your face!”

“You!” Jia Yi tries to wrap his head around the situation, but he's too distracted by how nice it feels to have Wenhan's weight on him, trusting that he won't let him fall.

 

 

**19**

“Cute,” He Changxi says when he's half-reluctantly woken up by Jia Yi for his shift. Half because the reluctance is mutual, and half because Jia Yi really does need the sleep, though.

“Who, me?” Jia Yi grins. “Thanks.”

He Changxi looks pointedly at where Wenhan has fallen asleep, covered thoughtfully in the nearest piece of cloth that counts as a blanket, also known as Jia Yi’s jacket. “You're not welcome. Where's Dar?”

The tiger rumbles a greeting, shaking its head from side to side when Changxi’s ermine clambers up to its neck. “Ah, there you are, much easier on the eyes than Jia Yi over here.” Jia Yi rolls his eyes.

Changxi stretches, limber as Perry as the ermine scrambles back down Summer’s side to preen at Changxi’s feet. The time that he takes to stylishly throw on his own jacket is all Jia Yi needs to crawl into his own sleeping bag, eyes closing. “Don't get eaten,” he says sleepily.

The tent edge flapping in the return breeze of Changxi stalking out is the only answer he gets.

 

 

**20**

“That's what you get for sleeping on the cold floor, outside of a perfectly good tent,” Guan Yue says.

Wenhan rubs the back of his probably cricked neck and gives his best _I was wrong forgive me_ look. Guan Yue is unimpressed. Redmane swats Winter in the nose, but the white tiger, like Wenhan, is too tired to do much more than snort and try to bury its face under its paws.

“Real men shouldn't be so hung up on these little things,” Wenhan changes tack, reaching for the bowl of hot soup on the bedside table. Only to be slapped away by Guan Yue's hand, the other clucking like a hen at him. “Ow!”

“Real men shouldn't _what_ ,” Guan Yue says, glaring.

“...Sleep on the floor outside a perfectly good tent?”

The answer doesn't seem to be the right one, but it makes Guan Yue break his angry look to huff a laugh. _Safe_ , Wenhan congratulates himself, and reaches for the food again.

Guan Yue lets him take it from his hands this time, watching Wenhan with his arms crossed. “Real men,” he says, forcing Wenhan to look up, mouthful of comfort food still in his cheeks. “Remember that their body isn't the same as it was before, and that they have friends who worry about them.”

“And higher-ups to report to, and subordinates to take care of, which they can't do when running a fever from exhaustion,” Guan Yue continues, turning away to busy himself with organising the loose papers that he'd brought from the office.

“I'm sorry,” Wenhan says, meaning it this time. “I never… I mean, I just didn't think -”

“ _Didn't think_ is right,” Hu Wenxuan says, sliding the door to the sick bay ward open and walking in. “Da-ge is just like that, Guan Yue-ge, no need to waste your time playing Chopin to cows.*”

“Snowy is a tiger,” Wenhan retorts, then shrinks back into the sheets when Prince easily steps on Winter’s paw, knowing she doesn't have the strength to chase him for it.

“Your tab,” Wenxuan says haughtily, but he sits down on the edge of Wenhan's bed and tucks him in awkwardly, careful not to jostle the IV drip. “Yangyang said he’ll drop by later.”

In the light of the setting day, surrounded by genuine care from people who he also cares about - it’s an odd moment for it, back in a medical bed that he now has a deep distaste for, but Wenhan can feel his heart bursting with warmth, though he doesn’t say it.

“Why’d you both have to bring me work, though,” he laments.

“What?” Wenxuan says, turning his head back from where he was watching the foxes play.

“Hm?” Guan Yue looks up from his own tab.

“Nothing,” Wenhan says, sipping his soup. “So… How did I get here again? I don’t remember that part.”

He sees Wenxuan and Guan Yue share a look, and warning bells start ringing. “Oh. I'm not going to like it, am I?”

 

 

**21**

There are five of them in a team, but Jia Yi is the one who panics when he finds Wenhan curled up in his bag, running a fever that makes him talk without a filter.

“Mm,” Wenhan says. Snowy slumps listlessly, tail barely twitching. Summer hesitates, then touches her nose to Snowy, concerned. “Wha - Snow… Last checkpoint.”

 _Fever_ , Summer pronounces, looking up at Jia Yi. _I’ve never seen guardians so closely linked to each other’s physical and mental state_.

“What do we do,” Jia Yi says, fretting. He reaches out a hand, pausing right before he comes into contact with Wenhan’s cheeks, too-warm breath on his fingers, until he’s almost certain that there must be a layer of moist condensation over them.

 _We’re almost_ \- Summer doesn’t get to finish her sentence, because at that moment Wenhan lunges forward, sudden and with more power than Jia Yi had expected.

“Wenhan -” Jia Yi stops, startled. The fevered instructor is hugging his spirit animal. Wenhan is hugging Summer. Wenhan is.

“Warm,” Wenhan mumbles. “Winmm. Snow would melt.”

The influx of jumbled thoughts and half-formed ideas flowing from Wenhan to Summer staggers Jia Yi. But most of all, the complete trust and deep affection pouring out, Wenhan turning his face until his nose is at the most comfortable spot at Summer’s neck.

 _He's not well,_ Jia Yi tells himself firmly. _He isn't doing this on purpose._ It doesn't stop the thrill of pleasure running up his spine. Nor does it help that tingling in his own neck, matching where Wenhan's exhales come softly against Summer's fur. Wenhan, touching Summer. Touching…

The pleased rumble from Summer when Wenhan strokes her sides helps Jia Yi struggle out of the confusion of picking out which thoughts are his, and which are Wenhan's unknowingly transmitting over.

“We have to get them to base,” Jia Yi says out loud. Summer hitches Wenhan a bit higher and nods.

“Why… You orange,” Wenhan says, squinting.

Summer sighs patiently and looks at Jia Yi.

He glances at Snowy’s slumbering form. “I'll call the rest.”

 

 

**22**

The haze of fever comes and goes, breaks on him like waves.

 _Shh,_ someone says.

 _Half a day's walk if we go faster,_ someone else says.

_How are we going to carry him?_

_I can do it,_ someone volunteers, voice delicate and worried.

“Xixi,” Wenhan says, eyes fluttering. “No. Scout.”

There's a short silence.

 _You heard the man_ , the second voice says. _We'll take turns. Don't push yourselves._

“I'll take S - I'll take his guardian,” Jia Yi’s voice says. “I don't think anyone else's is big enough.”

A murmur of agreement. Then Wenhan feels himself being lifted, and doesn't fight the sleep.

 

 

**23**

“A tiger carrying another tiger is pretty cool,” Chunyang says.

“Nooo,” Wenhan wails. “At least I didn't do something stupid. I hope.”

“Like?” Guan Yue says, popping a freshly washed grape.

“Like mistake Jia Yi’s tiger for my own,” Wenhan says, lying down in surrender. Though, come to think of it… Orange… Nah, must have been part of the fever dream.

“Wouldn't put it past you,” Wenxuan says, tickling the desert owl, and gets a faceful of wings beating him in the face. “Mmfgh!”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Cows actually quite like music, apparently. Liberal translation of [对牛弹琴](https://www.quora.com/What-does-%E5%AF%B9%E7%89%9B%E5%BC%B9%E7%90%B4-mean), because I think it's ever so slightly different from casting pearls before swine.
> 
> Fun fact: wenhan is humming Bomba in [18], just because I thought it'd be hilarious that he's humming something so upbeat but jia yi finds it calming
> 
>  **Tag added this chapter:** He Changxi
> 
> Thank you for reading and commenting and leaving kudos!!


	6. 24 - 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!!! A new chapter right after the previous one!!!

**24**

“Hey. Did you hear about Li Wenhan?”

“It's only been two days since he came back, and you're already knee-deep in the gossip?”

“I'm just well-informed,” Lian Huaiwei says. His prairie dog pops its head out of his pocket for long enough to nod importantly, then burrows back down. “So did you? I heard Wenhan is actually already bonded.”

“No way. Serious?”

“That's what I heard. And it's a strong Sentinel.”

“Didn't he say himself he's unbonded?” Lin Mo asks, glancing sideways at Jia Yi, sitting silently beside him.

Lian Huaiwei frowns. “That's true. But the other day,” he says, looking to Jia Yi for support, “Weren't you there too? He was touching the other person's guardian!”

“Spirit animal?” Lin Mo asks, voice hushed. “I thought only bonded…”

Lian Huaiwei nods. “You have to admit, it explains a lot of things. Like his power.”

All of a sudden, Jia Yi gets up. “Where are you going?” Lin Mo says. He's never seen Jia Yi’s face look so dark. The young team member he's come to see as his younger brother jerks to a stop, hand on the sliding door button.

“Out,” he says, short. Then disappears from view.

 

 

**25**

“Wenhan-ge.” The taller figure says. A leopard circles the white tiger, but every time it gets close the white tiger steps one paw backward.

“Wenhan.” He repeats in a softer voice. Jia Yi gives an involuntary shiver. Not from the cold, though the early spring weather is still cold enough that he and Lian Huaiwei are in their warm-up jackets on the short trip to the all-purpose store. No, Jia Yi realizes, he couldn’t help his reaction to the depth of pleading, heart-aching emotion spilling forth from two syllables.

Wenhan still hasn’t moved, eyes downcast.

“Li Wenhan!” He finally looks up. Jia Yi can tell, even from this distance, that his eyes are red. He's never seen him cry before.

The leopard changes target and moves directly toward Wenhan.

 _No,_ Jia Yi thinks in some sort of trance, and sees Wenhan curl his hand into a fist right before the leopard can touch its nose to his fingers. The fist shakes from how hard he’s clenching it. The leopard makes a low rasping sort of sound, tries again. Wenhan’s white tiger doesn’t try to intercept, but it also sticks close.

After the leopard’s third try, Wenhan moving away just before it can reach each time, the taller figure finally moves. It's obviously slowed down - not real Sentinel speed, but a movement that Wenhan could easily avoid if he wanted to. He doesn’t look like he has muscle, but he’s clearly strong enough to grab Wenhan by the wrist with one hand, and wrench his head to face him head-on with the other. “Stop fighting me,” he whispers.

From where they are, Jia Yi can only see the back of the person's head. But the clearest view is of Wenhan's eyes searching the other's, until he must have found something, because he closes them, eyelashes trembling.

The thumb gently stroking Wenhan’s cheek should have been the last straw. But what really causes Jia Yi to stumble backwards, uncaring of the noise he makes, is: Wenhan’s hand in the other person’s grasp going limp, letting himself be led by the hand, moving very slowly, until both his and the other’s hands come to rest right on top of the leopard’s head.

“Did you see that?” Lian Huaiwei asks when they’ve escaped far enough. They’re out of breath, heart thumping. His voice is barely more than a strained hush. “Tell me I didn’t dream it all up. They touched? For real?”

“Yeah.” Jia Yi mutters. “For real.”

 

 

**26**

Wenhan strokes Leo’s head, slowly at first, then more and more, until finally he flings his arms around Leo's neck and presses his face into his side to hide it.

He senses rather than sees Yibo kneel down.

“You could never be a burden,” Yibo says, a tinge of upset colouring his voice. “Why would - ge, how could you think that?”

Then the familiar flood of foreign thoughts and feelings rushing through, Yibo’s hand smoothing the fur around Winter's face.

Oh. He's much more upset than he sounds.

Wenhan shies away from the awareness of this, guiltily embarrassed, and sifts through to pick out the recent images of the rest of their menagerie family. Seungyoun delightedly beta testing a new weapon, Pard leaping onto his shoulders. Sungjoo chasing Biggie along the hospital corridors. Yixuan…

“You'd know all this if you checked your comms tab like a normal person,” Yibo says crossly.

Wenhan looks up. “I do too check it,” he says, letting go of Leo, who makes a disapproving noise and pushes his head back into Wenhan's hand. He pats him consolingly. “Well. The new one they gave me.”

Yibo, too, lets go of Winter, sighing as if he's been given a week's worth of paperwork and two days to finish it. “You too, Dongdong?” he says, knuckles knocking Winter’s head, before he gets up.

The youngest family member who he hasn't seen in a very, very long time holds out a hand, sun on his cheeks. “Come on,” Yibo says.

Wenhan takes the hand.

 

 

**27**

He's promptly pulled into a much-needed hug - though he hadn't realised how much he needed it.

“I missed you,” Wenhan sniffles. He doesn't have to be the responsible superior, or collected strategist, or calm Guide. “Why did you have to be away for so long?”

“ _I_ should be asking you that,” Yibo says, embrace warm even if his arms are still bony. “ _Six months._ What, was the hospital bed too comfortable?”

“Not the same,” Wenhan says, exasperated.

“Good that you know,” Yibo says. They hug in silence for a short while more. The birds are chirping somewhere, the weather is just right, and Leo is stretched out next to Winter, swatting her paw every now and then. Wenhan closes his eyes, content.

“I missed you too,” Yibo says softly.

 

 

**28**

“So what's this about another tiger,” Yibo says.

“Nothing!”

“Hm,” is the reply. “Doesn't seem like nothing.”

“Then what about that falcon bird thing?”

“...Low blow.”

“And same to you.”

 

 

 

\- TBC

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [24 -25] was written around the same time that [00 - 03] was. And then I had to write all the rest in between, because if not the implications of this chapter would not be understood. So they sat there for like, 3 months. Or something.
> 
> And now they're finally free!!!
> 
> And now you won't hear from me for another 5 months, because I _really_ don't have anything stored up anymore. 
> 
> No. times Yixuan has been mentioned so far: 2  
> No. times Yixuan has appeared: 0
> 
>  **Tag added this chapter:** Wang Yibo
> 
> Thank you for supporting TTBB and its cast!


	7. Internal Memo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Information disseminated for internal use only. Do not replicate or otherwise distribute outside of the Tower.

**Personnel List (Alphabetical)**

Chen Tao (S): ? - Raven

Cho Seungyoun (?): (Pard) - ?

Guan Yue (G): Eddy [Redmane] - Fox

He Changxi (?): (Perry) - Ermine

Hu Chunyang (G): Roast - Desert owl

Hu Wenxuan (S): Lithop [Prince] - Fennec fox

Jia Yi (S): Summer (Dar) [Sunny] - Tiger

Kim Sungjoo (?): (Biggie) - ?

Li Wenhan (G): Winter [Snowy] - White tiger

Lin Mo (G): ? - Lynx

Lou Jiongze (G): ? - Sandpiper

Shen Qunfeng (S): ? - Foxhound 

Wang Yibo (S):  (Leo) - Leopard

Xu Bingchao (S): Lune - Moon bear

Yao Chi (G): ? - Seal

 

**Intelligence Report (Live Update)**

  * Sentinel spirit animals are visible to all Sentinels and Guides [04]
  * Guide spirit animals are visible to all Guides and only to compatible Sentinels [02]
  * Sentinels have enhanced senses [00] and these enhanced senses can go into overdrive, causing them to go Berserk [10]
  * A Guide can calm down a Sentinel through voice [02, 10] and touch, whether person-to-person or using spirit animals [10]
  * Spirit animals have more than one name [04]
    * Some names are more private than others [08 vs 09; 01 vs 04, 17; 17 vs 19]
    * Knowledge of a spirit animal's name is tied to bonding [17] 
  * Sentinels and Guides can communicate with their spirit animals through mental link [01]
  * Spirit animals are mutually unintelligible if not of the same species (they only hear each other’s natural sounds and not words) [00]. 
    * They can communicate to some degree if touching - emotions or feelings [11], some form of sensory information [13, 16]
      * Only those with a closer relationships come into physical contact with each other, even as spirit animals [09]
  * Bonded Sentinel and Guide can mentally communicate with each other through touching the other’s spirit animal [08]
  * When touching a spirit animal, Sentinels and Guides transfer emotions, feelings, thoughts - even if unbonded. This is one-sided, i.e. the person touching transfers this information to the spirit animal being touched [21].
    * It is therefore, to an extent, taboo to touch another person’s spirit animal without permission [21]
  * Sentinel-Guide pairing gives a Guide some enhanced senses as well [14]
  * Spirit animals are not usually closely reflective of their Sentinel/Guide’s physical and mental state [21]




End file.
